PBEM Setup Instructions

[CanuckSoldier]

Due to the fact that the manual is not very friendly in this regard here are the steps to setup a PBEM in CIV.

1. You are the host: in your organizing the game you will need several options from the players.

a. There email address.

b. There SMTP server(this is so that the game can email the save directly without you manually emailing each save, example if a smtp server: smtp.telus.net)

c. Players will need to know there SMTP password(most smtp servers DO NOT require a pw to SEND mail, just to D/L it, so don't email the host with your "pop" password, for the odd person that has a ISP that requires a pw to send mail, this option is for you), the host doesn't need this info but you may.


d. The Civ they want, and if they want a custom "Civ Description", ie Greek Empire, a "Short Description", ie Greece, a "Civ Adjective" ie Greek.

e. There Civ password.

2. After you get all this info you enter this in the PBEM Staging Room. Click on the "Player Details" icon to the left of the player name in the list. It looks like a rectangle with a portrait in the top left. And enter all the details in the fields.

3. If you don't get the smtp info, it's no problem, the game will save the the game in a pbem folder in the "pbem/your game name" folder, in your My games folder. You just have to manually email it. And the players can enter this same data by using "Alt+D" to access the Player Details, the only difference in the in game PD screen is that the fields don't have text lables to the left, you have to mouse over the empty fields to find out what they are from the popups.

4. Also the PBEM "admin" should enter an "Admin Password". To do this, during your first turn as a player, use "Shift+Alt+D" and enter a pw in the field. This lets you play any players turn if required.

5. At the end of each turn the game will either send the save by email ingame or will save it to your HD, and after this it pauses the game, you can't unpause it. Your only option is click on the "open main menu" button or hit the esc on your keyboard and chose an option there.

6.At the end turn, the game gives you a "Don't send/OK" dialog if you have entered a email and smtp server. Also here is two fields that give you the option to enter a smtp username and and password. If you didn't enter a email/smtp the game just gives you a simple message that the game has been saved for you to manually email it. After you hit OK, it sends the emails and displays a message indicating that the email has been sent to "player@player.net".

6. Ofcourse to load your PBEM chose, Multiplayer-PBEM-Load Game, or just open the save in your email and CIV will launch and open it as a PBEM game, and you are off to the races.

CS

[Matrix]

Thanks, CanuckSoldier!

(By the way, it's "their" instead of "there". )

[CanuckSoldier]

Picky..picky, maybe a mod could sticky/move this when you make a CIV PBEM/Piboss specific area.

CS

[akots]

Well, it is very obscure, I did not understand anything.

Can you play scenario? How to set difficulty level? Etc., etc.

Besides, there is no pictures.

[DrAlimentado]

akots - are you complaining about firaxis instructions or canucksoldiers?

canucksoldier - thanks for the info

[akots]

quote:Originally posted by DrAlimentado


akots - are you complaining about firaxis instructions or canucksoldiers? ...

I think both are confusing.

The way I thought it is functioning is similar to Turn Tracker by game downloading save to a server which keeps track of the turns and players and sends these turns to the next player. Apparently, this is wrong since there does not seem to be any server but indeed the host PC is that server which for some reason has to use the e-mail accounts of the players to send the mail via pop3. Or am I getting this wrong?

[CanuckSoldier]

akots, CIV like previous Civ games is a peer to peer game, no servers are involved. Play by Email is a relatively simple system of playing your turn saving the game and emailing it to the next player. CIV has just taken it one step further by allowing you to email the save from in game instead of using your email client. I could make a word document complete with screen captures but I'm sure that if you print this out and have it with you as you try to set up your first PBEM game that it will all make sense.

As to your other question they are covered by the CIV manual, I wrote this instruction because PBEM(as well as the other MP topics) are not covered well in the manual.

CS

[akots]

OK, but what about Pitboss? Does it have to play any role in PBEMs as well? I know, it is not released yet. OK, never mind, we'd have to wait to see how and if actually it would function.

[CanuckSoldier]

There's not allot of details about Pitboss released offiically. But what I can say is that it will be similar in nature to PBEM except that it's a persistant game hosted by a player. There's no need to email saves as the game is always "live" and you just login and play your turn. Will this be more or less popular than PBEM? Hard to tell at this point.

CS